PORTLAND, Ore. — As drug recriminalization goes into effect starting September 1, some counties across the state are working in silos to quickly build out local deflection programs, while others are opting out of deflection altogether, building an inequitable patchwork of responses to addiction. Under the new law, only some people will be connected to care, while others will be arrested. Frontline addiction recovery providers are calling on leaders to create the real health-centered deflection programs they promised, and to look toward existing, successful deflection programs as models that can be built out across the state.
“In downtown Portland, addiction recovery providers and the Portland Police Central Bike Squad have been partnering since December of 2023 to connect more than 150 people living outside to vital services,” said Janie Gullickson, Executive Director of the Mental Health & Addiction Association of Oregon. “This is a true example of deflection wherein street outreach is happening proactively to community members, along with outreach workers taking calls from law enforcement to connect with people who need help. In just over a dozen individual shifts the program has successfully connected more than 150 people struggling with addiction and living outside with vital services, from medical detox and basic needs referrals, to addiction treatment, mental health and medical care, and even long term housing.”
“With less than one year of operations at Recovery Works’ Measure 110-funded medical detox center in SE Portland, our team has provided over 900 treatments, the majority to individuals struggling with deadly fentanyl addictions,” said Joe Bazeghi of Recovery Works NW. “This single facility expanded medical detox capacity in the Portland Metro Area by nearly 20 percent, and would not have been possible without support from Measure 110. The Police-Provider Connection Project has proven a successful means of deflecting individuals in need of such services out of our overburdened courts and jails and into services where sustained recovery is more possible. We need to continue to support evidence-based interventions to reduce drug related deaths in our community. In the age of illicit fentanyl, with unintentional drug overdose killing more young Americans than any other cause, this is no time to go backwards.”
Deflection is only vaguely defined in H.B. 4002, giving each separate county the ability to interpret the term however they want, or to go back to failed policies of arresting people with a health care issue. This has already created confusion among stakeholders and will be hard to track results.
“Lawmakers promised that people using drugs would be immediately connected to care, and avoid the criminal justice system. That’s not what is being implemented on the ground,” said Tera Hurst, Executive Director of the Health Justice Recovery Alliance. “We can’t arrest our way out of the overdose crisis. We all agree that addiction is a healthcare issue, and therefore should be treated as one. People having to wait for a court date to get care is only going to result in more tragic and senseless deaths. Our communities deserve serious solutions…not a slush fund for more prosecutors.”
While H.B. 4002 creates a new misdemeanor charge for addiction, Measure 110 services will remain intact and Measure 110 addiction recovery providers will continue to provide services which have already done a remarkable job expanding access to care.
The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission’s Racial Impact Analysis on H.B. 4002 found that under the law there will be new “racial disparity for Black and African American individuals” resulting in a higher rate of convictions. The impact statement found that African Americans will likely be convicted of the new possession charge at almost twice the rate of white people. This stands to deepen the inequality in Oregon’s criminal justice system, which already stands as 5th worst in the nation for arrest disparities.
“The Police-Provider Joint Connection Project is working to connect people to care. Yet our elected leaders chose to solve the public health problem with a political solution that has already been tried and didn’t work,” said Fernando Peña, Executive Director of Northwest Instituto Latino. “H.B. 4002 made a promise to our communities to create more pathways to care, not to fund endless onramps into the system. Many of the new programs claim to be deflection, but they’re only recreating the same system that causes irreparable harm to Black, Latinx, and other communities of color. The system as it currently sits will have extremely inequitable outcomes, depending on the time of day you’re caught with drugs, and what County you happen to be in. This is no way to treat Oregonians in crisis.”
How is deflection different from diversion?
According to the NCSL, deflection programs generally provide a path to treatment for individuals struggling with addiction, with the goal of averting the need for an emergent response from law enforcement or health services. Deflection programs typically involve law enforcement, peer support specialists, recovery coaches, clinical staff, case managers or social workers working together.
Pretrial diversion programs differ from deflection in that they are post-arrest interventions that occur at some point, prior to final entry of judgment. Programs can take place before charges are filed, before first appearance or before adjudication. Successful completion of these programs results in dismissal of charges and in some instances clearing of associated records of the case or arrest. Programs authorized by legislation are typically administered by prosecutors or court officials. Programs authorized by legislation are typically administered by prosecutors or court officials. Deflection is a connection to care before arrest, determining who needs what healthcare services. Connecting someone ASAP to a peer or case worker who can provide them with resources and referrals to long term, wraparound services that work – like the Joint Police Provider Connection Program in Portland.
About the Health Justice Recovery Alliance
The Health Justice Recovery Alliance (HJRA) is a statewide advocacy organization that represents nearly 100 community-based organizations and addiction recovery service providers across the state. We advocate for strong Measure 110 implementation policies and practices, and to ensure that the law’s funding focuses on healing and restoring the communities most harmed by racist drug war policies: Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Tribal, Native and other communities of color.
Additional Resources
- DPA Fact Sheet on H.B. 4002/recriminalization in Oregon
- Oregon Health Authority: Measure 110 services data, including NEW data on individual clients served during Q5 and Q6.